Ben Rook.

Locations: Mexico; Querétaro, Jalisco, Guanajuato, Puebla, Oaxaca, CDMX, Campeche, Yucatan, Quintana Roo

Dates: May 2021 - Jan 2023

Synopsis: A series born of frustration. The world was very different in May 2021 when I got on that plane to Mexico. The UK borders had just reopened after a long winter of lockdowns, broken promises, and injections for the masses. With discussion off-limits and threats of social exclusion for the hesitant, it felt like an escape from tyranny.

Mexico was one of only four countries open to people like me, and she offered me solace and self-discovery through photography. Like most photographers, my background and personality inform where I point my camera. To that extent, this series records a middle-aged Englishman's journey through an unfamiliar country and his attempt to orientate his life towards photographic free expression and travel in uncertain times.

Equipment: Fujifilm X100F, iPhone 7

My creative process - on Substack

Zine: 54 photographs and a 1,500-word essay - available on Blurb